Known in Japan as "Mystery of the Fossils," this was Media Factory's third Pokemon expansion, hitting shelves June 21, 1997 — more than two years before Wizards localized it as English Fossil (October 1999). The 48-card set leans prehistoric and psychic, headlined by holo Aerodactyl, Kabutops, Gengar, Haunter, Hypno and the legendary birds Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres, plus the chase Mew. Unlike the English run there are no 1st Edition or Shadowless distinctions here — Japanese cards came in a single print, identified by the fossil-shell set symbol and a rarity mark beside the card number. The print quality is unmistakably Media Factory: glossier stock, denser color, and the original Japanese-language attack text collectors prize. A clean Japanese Mystery of the Fossils holo is the purist's version of these classics.
- 1No 1st Edition or Shadowless variants exist in the Japanese run — there is one standard print. The drop-shadow/Shadowless distinction is an English-Fossil concept and does not apply here.
- 2Set symbol is a fossil/ammonite shell shared with English Fossil; a separate rarity mark sits by the card number.
- 3Some Fossil-era Pokemon turn up with a Gym symbol and no rarity mark — those came from later Japanese Gym theme decks, not the original 1997 boosters.
Japanese stock is glossier and a touch more durable than the English Carta Mundi printing, so high grades are somewhat more attainable, but watch for holo-foil scratching on the dark backgrounds (Gengar, Muk) and front whitening on the heavily saturated borders. Centering tends to run tighter than English Fossil. Grading tendencies here are hobby consensus, not a published spec.
Every card in the set, across all 1 edition. Pick an edition to narrow the listed copies; listed cards are clickable.
See every Fossil card we have in stock.